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Thursday,10-September-2026
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Second batch of 119 illegal immigrants from US to reach India today

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Amritsar, Feb 15: A second batch of 119 illegal immigrants from the US, comprising 67 Punjabis, will land at Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport on Saturday night in a special plane, officials said. Another flight of the deportees from the US is expected to reach here on February 16.

Earlier, a US military plane with 104 deportees landed in Amritsar on February 5.

Officials said besides 67 immigrants from Punjab, Saturday’s flight will have 33 people from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

This will be the second batch of Indians deported by the Trump government as part of a crackdown. The plane is expected to land at the airport around 10 p.m. on Saturday.

The deportation of these individuals is part of a wider crackdown by US immigration authorities on those who either entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas.

Sources have revealed that deportations will continue on a bi-weekly basis, with similar flights bringing back Indian nationals in the coming weeks, until all undocumented immigrants are returned to their home countries.

The government of India, through diplomatic channels, continues to work on repatriating its nationals who are affected by such deportations.

While the process has caused distress for many families, the authorities emphasise that the deportations are part of the ongoing effort to address illegal immigration, and those who wish to return home will be facilitated.

With the ongoing crackdown, both the US and India are taking steps to address immigration challenges while ensuring their respective laws are upheld.

This deportation comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump and stressed the need to fight against the “ecosystem” that lures people from ordinary families with big dreams and promises and brings them to other countries as illegal immigrants.

“We are of the opinion that anybody who enters and lives in another country illegally, they have absolutely no legal right or authority to live in that country,” PM Modi said at a joint press conference with Trump in the White House on Thursday.

Opposing the move to land the next plane carrying deported Indians at the Amritsar airport, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday described it as a “conspiracy of the Union government to defame Punjab and Punjabis”.

Interacting with the media here, the Chief Minister said that despite Punjab being the food bowl and sword arm of India, the move to land the plane carrying deported Indians from the US “is just another attempt of the Government of India to tarnish the image of Punjab globally”.

Mann questioned the move of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to choose Amritsar for landing this plane whereas there are hundreds of other airports in the country.

The Chief Minister said he has already raised this issue with the MEA and the Ministry of Home Affairs but hasn’t received any positive response from them.

He said that one plane had landed a few days back and now two more planes are being landed without any proper justification.

The Chief Minister said, “It is the moral responsibility of the MEA to explain why Punjab, especially Amritsar, has been chosen for this landing”.

He said despite the fact that a hostile neighbour is 40 kms away from Amritsar, an Army plane of the US is being landed here.

Crime

MMRDA declares airport-adjacent structure illegal; Kirit Somaiya demands immediate demolition

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Mumbai, Sep 10: Tensions have escalated near Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (Terminal 2) after the Maharashtra Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) confirmed that a religious structure operating near the high-security zone lacks statutory planning permissions and is unauthorised.

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kirit Somaiya has alleged a deliberate attempt at unauthorised land occupation — characterising the structure as “Land Jihad” — and has pressed state authorities and site operators to initiate criminal action against the trustees and individuals responsible.

Following complaints regarding unauthorised construction near sensitive airport land, MMRDA verified that no official approvals, building sanctions, or permissions were ever granted for the religious structure.

MMRDA has issued formal notices to Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) directing the immediate removal and demolition of the unauthorised structure to ensure the perimeter remains clear.

Somaiya has formally requested both MMRDA and MIAL to go beyond physical clearance by registering a First Information Report (FIR) against the managing trustees and individuals associated with the illegal construction.

The controversy highlights ongoing scrutiny surrounding unauthorised encroachments adjacent to critical national infrastructure. Officials note that unregulated structures near VIP corridors, taxi parking lanes, and terminal facilities pose significant security hazards.

The matter aligns with previous judicial observations where courts have emphasised that public safety and secure zones near international hubs supersede unauthorised religious claims or structures erected without explicit administrative approvals.

Authorities from MIAL and local police departments are currently reviewing directives provided by MMRDA regarding execution steps and necessary security arrangements during the scheduled clearance drive.

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Crime

Priyanka Gandhi office warns against her deepfake videos asking people to invest money

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New Delhi, Sep 10: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday urged people to stay cautious of misleading and fabricated videos allegedly featuring her and asked them not to fall prey to fraudulent and deceitful calls for investment in real estate projects or any other futuristic ventures.

Priyanka Gandhi’s office flagged the issue after her deepfake videos surfaced and were seen in circulation on multiple social media platforms.

It has urged the Congress leader’s followers and others to neither click on those posts nor give consent to any requests made in the AI-generated video.

Issuing a formal scam alert on Instagram, Priyanka Gandhi’s office warned the public against fake, AI-generated videos that have apparently used her face and voice to cheat the people and hoodwink them into fraudulent investments.

“Fake videos using AI-generated images and voice of Smt Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ji is circulating on WhatsApp, Instagram and other social media platforms asking people to invest money,” Cong MP’s office informed on its Insta handle.

“These are scams. Please do not click or invest,” it further said.

The Congress MP also asked the people to block such posts at the first instance and also report them to the relevant authorities for suitable action.

Such scams using deepfake and AI-generated videos of famous personalities have mushroomed in the past few years, making many gullible investors prone to huge financial losses.

A deepfake video is made by using AI to simulate a person’s face and voice, making it a facsimile copy of the target.

The scammers distort and misuse the cutting-edge technology to generate misleading videos, featuring unauthorised images of prominent figures and then try to rob people of their money.

In the recent past, deepfake videos of industrialists like Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani also surfaced, where the online scammers and fraudsters used AI-doctored videos to lure citizens into fraudulent investment traps, leading to huge losses to investors.

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National News

Jammu Municipal Corporation demolishes 20 shops in Satwati area

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Jammu, Sep 10: Jammu Municipal Corporation officials on Thursday demolished 20 shops in Satwati area of the city even as the shopkeepers alleged that no prior notice was served to them.

Reports said the Jammu Municipal Corporation today demolished around 20 shops at Satwari Chowk, triggering anger among shopkeepers who alleged that the decades old commercial establishments were demolished without any prior information or notification.

The shops, according to the affected shopkeepers, had been operating at the location for around 50 years, with the occupants claiming that they had been regularly paying monthly rent to the municipal authorities.

Angry shopkeepers alleged that the demolition was carried out without giving them adequate notice or information, leaving them with little opportunity to remove their belongings or make alternative arrangements. The action comes against the backdrop of the long-pending issue of rehabilitation of shopkeepers affected by development works in the Satwari area.

The UT Cabinet had earlier approved a rehabilitation and resettlement scheme for shopkeepers and open-space kiosks affected by road widening at Nai Basti, Satwari Chowk.

A Jammu Municipal Corporation official, however, said that the affected shopkeepers would be relocated to another site within six months.

The assurance has failed to convince the affected traders, who said they had heard assurances of rehabilitation earlier as well, but continued to face uncertainty over their livelihood. The issue of rehabilitation of Satwari shopkeepers has been raised repeatedly by traders’ bodies.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has previously stated that affected shopkeepers had been paying rent to the municipal authorities and had sought alternate sites and rehabilitation.

Shopkeepers affected by the Jammu Municipal Corporation actions argue that relocation promises are uncertain and have demanded immediate financial compensation.

In June 2026, Jammu Development Authority (JDA) cleared over 30 illegal structures near the Jammu railway station, reclaiming state land valued at Rs 10 crore.

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